Elizabethan Theatre Conventions
presence of an audience instead of completely ignoring them
Here are some of the more identifiable acting and staging
conventions common to Elizabethan theatre:
Soliloquy
Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” is literature’s most famous
soliloquy. This popular Elizabethan convention is a literary or
dramatic technique in which a single character talks aloud
inner thoughts to him or herself, but not within earshot of
another character. Typically, a soliloquy is lengthy with a
dramatic tone.
Aside
The aside existed in Shakespeare’s times, but happily
continued into the melodramas of the 19th century many
years later. An aside is a convention that usually involves
one character addressing the audience “on the side”, offering
them valuable information in relation to the plot or characters
that only the audience is privy to. The audience now feels
empowered, knowing more about the events on stage than
most of the characters do.
Boys Performing Female Roles
Acting in Elizabeth’s England was frowned upon my many in
society as a profession unsuitable for women, as it was
rough and rowdy instead of genteel. As a result, women
were not legally permitted to act on the English stage until
King Charles II was crowned in the year 1660 (even though
women were already acting in various European countries in
Commmedia dell’Arte plays for some years). Shakespeare
and his contemporaries therefore had no choice but to cast
young boys in the roles of women, while the men played all
the male roles on stage.
Masque
Existing before Elizabethan England and also outliving it, the
masque was normally performed indoors at the King or
Queen’s court. Spoken in verse, a masque involved beautiful
costumes and an intellectual element appropriate for the
mostly educated upper class. Masques were allegorical
stories about an event or person involving singing, acting
and dancing. Characters wore elaborate masks to hide their
faces.
Eavesdropping
Eavesdropping was a dramatic technique that sat neatly
between a soliloquy and an aside. Certain characters would
strategically overhear others on stage, informing both
themselves and the audience of the details, while the
characters being overheard had no idea what was
happening. This convention opened up opportunities for the
playwright in the evolving plot.
Presentational Acting Style
It is generally agreed by scholars Elizabethan acting was
largely presentational in style. Plays were more overtly a
“performance” with clues the actors were aware of the
as part of their art. Movements and gestures were more
stylised and dramatic than one might ordinarily expect in a
modern naturalistic or realistic drama, speech patterns were
heightened for dramatic effect, and the use of conventions
such as the aside, prologue, epilogue and word puns directly
connected characters to the audience watching. The aside,
the prologue, the soliloquy and the epilogue were all
variations on a characters’ direct address to the audience
when staged.
Dialogue
Elizabethan plays commonly consisted of dialogue that was
poetic, dramatic and heightened beyond that of the
vernacular of the day. While often the lower class
characters’ speech was somewhat colloquial (prose),
upper class characters spoke stylised, rhythmic speech
patterns (verse). Shakespeare took great care in
composing dialogue that was sometimes blank (unrhymed),
but at other times rhyming (couplets) and often using five
stressed syllables in a line of dialogue (iambic
pentameter).
Play Within A Play
This Elizabethan convention was a playwriting technique
used by Shakespeare and others that involved the staging of
a play inside the play itself. It was not a flimsy convention,
but rather one that was used judiciously and with purpose.
One of the most famous examples of this convention occurs
in Hamlet, when the title character is convinced his uncle
Claudius murdered his father for the throne. So Hamlet
organises an out-of-town troupe of performers to attend one
evening and perform a play before King Claudius that
involves the same plot line as the events in the larger play
(murder of a King), but in a different setting … all to let
Claudius know Hamlet is on to him!
Stagecraft
In terms of stagecraft, Elizabethan dramas used elaborate
costumes, yet quite the opposite for scenery. Acting spaces
were largely empty (bare stage) with isolated set pieces
representing many of the same and minimal use of props (a
single tree equalled a forest, a throne for a King’s palace).
This explains the use of rich dialogue full of imagery, as
there was no set on stage to designate the scene’s location.
However, Elizabethan costumes were often rich and colorful,
with a character’s status in society being denoted by their
costume, alone. There were no stage lights of any kind, with
plays strictly performed during daylight hours. A simple
balcony at the rear of the stage could be used for scenes
involving fantastical beings, Gods or Heaven, while a trap
door in the stage floor could also be used to drop characters
into Hell or raise characters up from beneath. Entrances and
exits were at two doors at the rear (tiring house) and not the
side wings, as is the case in modern theatre. An Elizabethan
actor exiting side stage may well have landed in the
groundings after falling off the edge of the (three-sided)
thrust stage that jutted out into the audience!